Ted Danson is candidly discussing his path to stardom.
The iconic “Cheers” actor opened up about the emotional struggles he faced before his beloved character, Sam Malone, captured the hearts of viewers. The acclaimed series ran from 1982 to 1993.
During a podcast episode of “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” hosted by Danson and his former “Cheers” co-star Woody Harrelson, the 76-year-old actor admitted that he “didn’t know how to play Sam Malone” when he first landed the role, revealing it took him a year and a half to fully embody the character.
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“Cheers” star Ted Danson discussed the challenges he faced in portraying his famous character Sam Malone after the show’s initial season. (Getty Images)
“I had no idea what arrogance looked like. I had never set foot in a bar. I rarely approached women. I wasn’t a womanizer, although I might have wanted to be,” he elaborated.
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Danson portrayed Sam Malone on the beloved sitcom “Cheers” from 1982 to 1993. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for the Environmental Media Association)
“I needed women to be literally standing across from me naked before it clicked in my head, ‘Oh, me? You’re speaking to me? Wow…’ That’s the complete opposite of Sam Malone.”
Danson and his “Cheers” co-star Woody Harrelson co-host the podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” (Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Following the pilot’s initial airing, Danson recalled pulling the director, James Edward Burrows—known affectionately as “Jimmy”—aside for a heart-to-heart.
“The show aired and I said, ‘Jimmy, can we talk?’ then we went behind the scenes…and I broke down in tears, saying, ‘I’m not doing well. I’m terrible. I have no idea how to proceed,’” the actor recounted.
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Danson shared that he was taken aback by Burrows’ reaction: “He listened for a moment, then burst into laughter and walked away…so it was like, ‘Oh, well. I’ll keep that one to myself.’”
The “Cheers” cast: top row (l-r) George Wendt as Norm Peterson, Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane, John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin; middle row (l-r) Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone; bottom row (l-r) Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd and Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli. (Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)
Danson’s reflections came after a discussion with “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay, about the challenges they faced in understanding their characters during the early phases of their hit shows.
Kudrow remarked that Danson’s moment with his director was akin to a “slap,” indicating times when a colleague had to metaphorically “slap” an actor into realizing they were destined for the roles they portrayed.
For Kudrow, this awakening happened during her exchanges with Matt LeBlanc, who notoriously played Joey on “Friends.”
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“Friends” cast: (L-R) Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc. (Jon Ragel/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)
“It took me, if not a year and a half, maybe two seasons to feel like I had Phoebe down,” Kudrow disclosed. “The outlandish things her character said made it necessary for me to justify them… I felt like ‘ugh,’ it required considerable effort to figure it all out.”
Kudrow then described how she became frustrated with her performance, prompting LeBlanc to inquire, “What’s bothering you?”
“I admitted, ‘I’m being lazy. I’m not putting in the effort I gave in the first and second seasons. I’m not investing in Phoebe, so it can’t be good,’ and he replied, ‘No, you understand the character now. You no longer need to exert yourself as before. You’ve got it down pat.'”
Kudrow noted that LeBlanc’s remarks were “just enough” to help her stop feeling “hysterical” and indicated that their chat effectively “slapped” her back into her character.
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